Selecting just 40 high school seniors from more than 1,600 applicants, the Boettcher Foundation gave merit-based, virtually full-ride scholarships to some of the state’s most promising students. The Boettcher Foundation has awarded more than 2,300 scholarships in 62 years and pays over $3 million per year, a release stated.

Scholarship recipients can use the money for any public or private in-state institution. The scholarship lasts for either 12 quarters or eight semesters and includes funds for tuition, books, fees, and a stipend for living expenses. Students are required to maintain a 3.0 grade point average.

Tiffany Anderson, Boettcher’s scholarship program director, said the program is highly competitive and rigorous. She noted that each year, Boettcher selects the best from hundreds of class presidents, musicians, community leaders, athletes and academically superior students.

A view from a dorm room suite in the Kittredge Dorms building at the University of Colorado. (Photo By Rachel Woolf/ The Daily Camera)

The Boettcher Foundation has given $825,000 to higher-education institutions across the state, including Colorado State University, the University of Colorado at Boulder and CU Denver.

The foundation gave out nine capital grant awards to colleges and universities across the state. The grants will fund various projects that will benefit students and their communities. Boettcher chose projects that officials hope will build community while heightening student engagement and workforce and economic development.

“From classrooms that will train the next generation of scientists to student centers that serve as vital community hubs, these projects represent some of the most innovative and impactful projects being pursued by the state’s higher-education institutions,” Boettcher president and executive director Tim Schultz said in a news release. “When we determine which projects to fund, we seek out those that fulfill the Boettcher Family’s original mission of improving the lives of Coloradans.”

The Boettcher Foundation this week selected 40 Colorado high school seniors as 2013 winners of full-ride scholarships to attend any public or private four year college or university in Colorado. In addition, the award will provide funds to cover the cost of tuition and fees, and a stipend for all living expenses.

2013 Boettcher Scholars

To qualify for the merit-based awards students had to be in the top 5 percent of their class and have a combined score of at least 1200 on the critical reading and math sections of the SAT or a 27 on the ACT. The winners were also selected based on their superior scholastic ability, evidence of leadership and involvement, service to community and school, and outstanding characters.

Tim Schultz, president and executive director of the Boettcher Foundation, said the goal of the Boettcher Scholarship is to keep highly talented students in Colorado by connecting them with opportunities offered by in-state institutions.

Colorado Classroom provides ground-level reporting on what’s going on in the state’s public schools and on college campuses, looking at people, places, issues, trends and innovative approaches to education.